My Name Is Earl: ‘Joy in a Bubble’ Preview

If you’re in the United States, warm up for tonight’s highly, hotly, roundly anticipated vice-presidential debate with another one-hour My Name Is Earl block.

The back-to-back extravaganza consists of “Joy in a Bubble,” which does sound nasty, followed by “Stole an RV.” In the first episode, when Earl gives Joy a hot tub, she contracts a gross-sounding affliction described as a “flesh eating toe infection.”

As a result, Joy is confined to a plastic bubble, during which time Earl must take over her previous life to keep things running smoothly — or what passes for smoothly in Joy’s surreal world.

In the process, he becomes determined to help Dodge and Earl Jr., whom he suspects have no friends because of a social disorder. And the dysfunction just gets passed down from generation to generation!

Follow the jump for a double sneak peek at the first episode, highlighted by a shot of Joy’s newly infected, insanely huge big toe. Ugh — I’m with Darnell and his scream of terror!

My Name Is Earl airs Thursdays on NBC at 8pm EST.